Las Vegas glitz could be coming to Spain under plans American casino
billionaire Sheldon Adelson has to replicate the Nevada city's famous strip.

The 78-year-old tycoon, who is chairman and chief executive of casino giant Las Vegas Sands, said he was intending to put $35bn (£22bn) into a gambling destination in Spain - likely to be in either Barcelona or Madrid.

Following the opening of his latest casino complex, in Macau, Mr Adelson told Reuters: "We are looking at 12 integrated resorts, 3,000 rooms each. A mini Las Vegas about half the size of the Las Vegas strip in Spain for the European market."

It is estimated each casino building could cost the Las Vegas Sands group between $2.5bn and $3bn to build.

The company would target wealthy customers from Western Europe but also the burgeoning tourist class from the former Eastern bloc.

Mr Adelson, whose started his career selling newspapers on street corners, said his vision for Spain was likely to take five to 10 years to come to fruition. Las Vegas Sands has previously hinted at expansion in Europe, although Mr Adelson's comments on Wednesday pointed to plans on a much larger scale than previously expected.